


Winter is Running

by Reioka



Series: Reioka's Tumblr Prompts [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 11:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11103540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reioka/pseuds/Reioka
Summary: Bucky had never wanted to hurt Tony. He should have known better than to think he wouldn't.





	Winter is Running

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to thealextheshipper over on Tumblr for the title. This was a prompt from my Tumblr: Winteriron prompt where Bucky hurts Tony while trying to protect Steve and Bucky dealing with the fall out. Angst with happy ending pweez!
> 
> This was so hard to write, I really didn't want to hurt Tony, haha!

Winter is Running

 

Bucky didn’t know what had happened. He must have reverted to the Asset under the stress of the fight. He typically did when they were fighting Hydra. On the bright side, the Asset didn’t like being under Hydra’s thumb anymore—he fought Hydra just as viciously if not more so than Bucky and Steve.

 

The downside to that was that the Asset had difficulty differentiating from friend and foe. The Asset had once attacked Natasha. That had nearly been a bloodbath. Luckily, the Asset had always considered Tony too weak to be considered an actual threat.  _Unluckily_ , the Asset had a completely different opinion of the Iron Man armor. And it appeared that that included even when Tony was only partially armored.

 

Tony cradled his broken wrist to his chest, face set in a grimace as he huddled behind Steve. That was probably why the Asset had hesitated, why Bucky was able to come to the front again—The Asset didn’t attack Steve, so when he protected Tony, he had probably gotten confused.

 

“—nd down, Asset,” Steve was saying sternly, one hand out, nearly touching Bucky’s chest. “Stand down. Iron Man is not a threat, Asset.”

 

Bucky let out a wounded noise, pulling his own hands to his chest so they couldn’t hurt anyone anymore.

 

Steve relaxed his stance minutely. “Bucky? Is that you?”

 

“I—” Bucky began, unable to tear his eyes away from Tony’s broken wrist, his hand held at an awkward angle. “I did that?”

 

“It was a misunderstanding,” Steve explained quickly, wrapping an arm around the smaller man’s trembling shoulders. “There was a sniper and—that doesn’t matter right now.”

 

Bucky took a step forward, reaching out to touch the brunet’s arm, but Tony made a frightened sound and huddled closer to Steve, eyes wet.

 

“Oh,” Bucky said, pulling his hand back to his chest.

 

“Please don’t run,” Steve blurted out, but Bucky had already turned on his heel and was gone.

 

.-.-.-.

 

Natasha took Tony to medical to have his wrist set, because Steve had gone after Bucky. Her lips were pressed into a thin, angry line and the skin around her eyes was tight with stress.

 

“I’m sorry,” Tony said miserably, staring down at his feet.

 

She glanced at him, confused. “Why are you sorry?”

 

“Bucky’s gone and it’s my fault,” the brunet explained, not lifting his gaze. “And you wanted to go after him but you got stuck bringing me to medical because Thor went after him too and Clint was helping Bruce.”

 

“Tony,” she said, probably a touch too harshly. “This isn’t something you should be sorry for. Did I also want to go after Barnes? Yes, but only so I could kick his ass for trying to run and leave you behind in the first place!”

 

Tony’s eyes went glassy. “So you’re not mad at me for getting in the way?”

 

“Tony,” Natasha hissed again, wrapping her arms around him to aggressively draw him into a hug. “You weren’t in the way. This was nobody’s fault but Hydra’s. Hydra caused a situation where there was no good outcome.” She leaned back, giving him a stern glare. “None of us are mad. …Well, Steve will be mad, but not at you. He’ll be mad that he was part of the reason this happened. Accept his apology with minimum joking.”

 

Tony pressed his face into her shoulder and let out a shuddering breath. “He ran away from me, Natasha. I thought… maybe if we were together, he’d stop running.”

 

“Котёнок,” Natasha whispered, running her fingers through his hair. “He has run, but not from you—only what he did. Can you blame him after all that’s been done to him?”

 

“I guess not,” the brunet choked out. “But what if he doesn’t come back to me? What if I never get to see him again?”

 

She leaned back and lifted a hand to brush the hair out of his wet eyes. “What fool would not come back for you, Tony?”

 

.-.-.-.

 

Bucky lost Thor, but Steve had always been a tenacious little shit. He wondered why Steve was even chasing him. He’d given him a shovel talk, had warned him that if he hurt Tony in any way that he would be drop-kicked off the tower. And now he’d gone and broken his wrist without a second thought.

 

Wait. Was Steve dragging him back to the tower to be drop-kicked off of it? That might actually be okay.

 

Steve let out a startled noise when he spun around to face him that was so high-pitched it would have been funny had it not been for Bucky’s imminent death. “—Buck!” he snapped, reaching out to grab his flesh wrist, and the brunet wished with all his heart that the other man would break it too, because he deserved it.

 

“Are you going to kick me off the top of the tower?” Bucky asked hopefully.

 

The blond glared at him venomously. “Thinkin’ ‘bout it. And you called me an idiot, you jerk. Tony didn’t flinch because he was scared; he flinched because he was in pain and you were reaching for his injured arm!”

 

“I hurt him though,” Bucky said, fighting the urge to rip his arm free. “Stevie, I could have torn his hand clean off—”

 

“But you  _didn’t,_ ” Steve snapped. “The Asset did it, and we know the Asset isn’t very discerning. He just saw what appeared like Tony attacking me and tried to defend me. But you of all people should know how Tony will take it if you disappear.”

 

Bucky did know. Tony had been abandoned so many times, and yet he still put himself out there, allowed people close even though he was probably scared he’d be left again. Tony was a gift that the world didn’t deserve and usually Bucky would say he would  _never_  leave him, that he would be one of the precious few who stayed, but…

 

“I  _hurt_  him, Stevie,” Bucky whispered, face crumpling.

 

Steve used the grip on his wrist to gently pull him in for a hug. “I know, Buck.”

 

“I wish I wasn’t like this. I wish I could always be safe for Tony but I’m not and what if I hurt him again? I could kill him so easily. And he would  _let_  me.”

 

“I know,” the blond sighed, rubbing up and down his back. “I know, Buck. That’s why he’s such a good man.”

 

“I love him so much and I never wanted to hurt him,” Bucky mumbled into his shoulder.

 

Steve held him just a little tighter, feeling helpless. He had really hoped feeling helpless would go away after getting the serum. Somehow it just made feeling helpless worse.

 

.-.-.-.

 

Natasha grabbed his ear as soon as he set foot into the common area and led him back into the elevator to his chorus of ‘shit’s and ‘ow  _fuck_ ’s. “You will go to Tony,” she told him sternly. “You will go to him and apologize and you will hold him and never let him go.”

 

“I hurt him, Natasha,” Bucky began, trying to free his ear from her tight grip.

 

“Why does everyone forget that I literally stabbed him in the neck and he still likes me?” Natasha asked coldly. “And  _I_  was fully aware of my actions. He has been aware of the Asset and his proclivity to attack all comers since the moment you set foot in this tower. He also knows that the Asset isn’t  _you._  Give Tony some credit, you idiot.”

 

Bucky would have argued, but then the elevator was opening to the penthouse floor, and Tony was pacing. His heart lurched when he saw the thick red cast wrapped around his left arm from his elbow down to his fingers, but he didn’t get to dwell on it, because Tony—Tony was wringing his fingers, and it probably hurt his wrist more to do that, and judging by his frantic movements, he hadn’t taken any painkillers either.

 

Bucky approached him before he could stop himself, reaching out to grab his hands, keep him from hurting himself. “Tony.”

 

Tony looked up at him, eyes wet and round with terror. He almost backed off, horrified, except then the smaller man was launching himself at him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and trembling up against his chest. Bucky’s hands fluttered uselessly before he hesitantly wrapped them around the brunet’s waist, slowly tightening his grip when the other man whimpered.

 

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Tony choked, fingers clenching uselessly at the body armor he was still wearing.

 

“Shhh, honey. I’m here.” Bucky leaned back, making hushing noises as he lifted his flesh hand. He hesitated a couple of inches from the other man’s face.

 

Tony noticed his hovering hand and shoved his cheek into it, letting out a shaky sigh as he nuzzled into his palm. “I thought—you just, you just  _ran_  and I couldn’t say a word-! And then Steve was gone too and I thought—I thought maybe he might blame me if you didn’t come back. And I wanted you to come back so bad, because—I know you’re scared, that the Asset is something you’re afraid of, but—but I love you anyway. And I would rather have you here than spend my nights lying awake, wondering where you are, if you’re safe—if, if maybe you found someone else—”

 

“Sweetheart,  _no_ ,” Bucky insisted, and stroked his thumb over the brunet’s cheek soothingly. “Honey, I could never replace you! And Steve would never blame you for my running away. I’m sorry I made you feel this way. I’m sorry about everything.”

 

“You can’t leave,” Tony insisted, tucking his face into the taller man’s neck again so he wouldn’t see how terrified he was at the thought. “I love you. I know you’re afraid to hurt me again, but this was just… this was an accident. So don’t leave.”

 

Bucky pressed a kiss to the top of his head, helpless in the face of his lover’s fears. “Okay. I’ll stay. I’m sorry I ran, Tony. I’ll stay with you forever.”

 

“We’ll figure out a way to make the Asset like me,” the smaller man continued. “Okay? We will.”

 

Bucky had no idea how Tony was going to make the Asset like him, but if anyone could do it, it would be him.


End file.
